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If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Chambers's Journal of Popular Literature, Science, and Art, - Fifth Series, No. 105, Vol. III, January 2, 1886 - -Author: Various - -Release Date: December 14, 2021 [eBook #66943] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Susan Skinner, Eric Hutton and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was - produced from images generously made available by The Internet - Archive) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHAMBERS'S JOURNAL OF POPULAR -LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND ART, FIFTH SERIES, NO. 105, VOL. III, JANUARY 2, -1886 *** - - - - -[Illustration: - -CHAMBERS’S JOURNAL - -OF - -POPULAR - -LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND ART - -Fifth Series - -ESTABLISHED BY WILLIAM AND ROBERT CHAMBERS, 1832 - -CONDUCTED BY R. CHAMBERS (SECUNDUS) - -NO. 105.—VOL. III. SATURDAY, JANUARY 2, 1886. PRICE 1½_d._] - - - - -IN ALL SHADES. - -BY GRANT ALLEN, - -AUTHOR OF ‘BABYLON,’ ‘STRANGE STORIES,’ ETC. ETC. - - -CHAPTER I. - -About one o’clock in the morning, by a flickering fire of half-dead -embers, young men of twenty-five are very apt to grow confidential. -Now, it was one o’clock gone, by the marble timepiece on Edward -Hawthorn’s big mantel-shelf in King’s Bench Walk, Temple; and Edward -Hawthorn and Harry Noel were each of them just twenty-five; so it is -no matter for wonder at all that the conversation should just then -have begun to take a very confidential turn indeed, especially when -one remembers that they had both nearly finished their warm glass of -whisky toddy, and that it was one of those chilly April evenings when -you naturally cower close over the fire to keep your poor blood from -curdling bodily altogether within you. - -‘It’s certainly very odd, Noel, that my father should always seem so -very anxious to keep me from going back to Trinidad, even for a mere -short visit.’ - -Harry Noel shook out the ashes from his pipe as he answered quietly: -‘Fathers are altogether the most unaccountable, incomprehensible, -mysterious, and unmanageable of creatures. For my own part, I’ve given -up attempting to fathom them altogether.’ - -Edward smiled half deprecatingly. ‘Ah, but you know, Noel,’ he went on -in a far more serious tone than his friend’s, ‘my father isn’t at all -like that; he’s never refused me money or anything else I’ve wanted; -he’s been the most liberal and the kindest of men to me; but for some -abstruse and inconceivable reason—I can’t imagine why—he’s always -opposed my going back home even to visit him.’ - -‘If Sir Walter would only act upon the same principle, my dear boy, -I can tell you confidentially I’d be simply too delighted. But he -always acts upon the exact contrary. He’s in favour of my coming down -to the Hall in the very dampest, dreariest, and dullest part of all -Lincolnshire, at the precise moment of time when I want myself to be -off to Scotland, deer-stalking or grouse-shooting; and he invariably -considers all my applications for extra coin as at least inopportune—as -the papers say—if not as absolutely extravagant, or even criminal. A -governor who deals lavishly while remaining permanently invisible on -the other side of the Atlantic, appears to me to combine all possible -and practical advantages.’ - -‘Ah, that’s all very well for you, Noel; you’ve got your father and -your family here in England with you, and you make light of the -privilege because you enjoy it. But it’s a very different thing -altogether when all your people are separated from you by half a -hemisphere, and you’ve never even so much as seen your own mother since -you were a little chap no bigger than that chair there. You’ll admit -at least that a fellow would naturally like now and again to see his -mother.’ - -‘His mother,’ Noel answered, dropping his voice a little with a sort of -instinctive reverential inflection. ‘Ah, that, now, is a very different -matter.’ - -‘Well, you see, my dear fellow, I’ve never seen either my father or my -mother since I was quite a small boy of eight years old or thereabouts. -I was sent home to Joyce’s school then, as you know; and after that, -I went to Rugby, and next to Cambridge; and I’ve almost entirely -forgotten by this time even what my father and mother look like. When -they sent me home those two photographs there, a few months back, I -assure you there wasn’t a feature in either face I could really and -truly recognise or remember.’ - -‘Precious handsome old gentleman your father, anyhow,’ Noel observed, -looking up carelessly at the large framed photograph above the -fireplace. ‘Seems the right sort too. Fine air of sterling coininess -also, I remark, about his gray hair and his full waistcoat and his -turn-down shirt-collar.’ - -‘O Noel, please; don’t talk that way!’ - -‘My dear fellow, it’s the course of nature. We fall as the leaves fall, -and new generations replace us and take our money. Good for the legacy -duty. Now, is your governor sugar or coffee?’ - -‘Sugar, I believe—in fact, I’m pretty sure of it. He often writes that -the canes are progressing, and talks about rattoons and centrifugals -and other things I don’t know the very names of. But I believe he has a -very good estate of his own somewhere or other at the north end of the -island.’ - -‘Why, of course, then, that’s the explanation of it—as safe as houses, -you may depend upon it. The old gentleman’s as rich as Crœsus. He makes -you a modest allowance over here, which you, who are an unassuming, -hard-working, Chitty-on-contract sort of fellow, consider very -handsome, but which is really not one quarter of what he ought to be -allowing you out of his probably princely income. You take my word for -it, Teddy, that’s the meaning of it. The old gentleman—he has a very -knowing look about his weather-eye in the photograph there—he thinks if -you were to go out there and see the estate and observe the wealth of -the Indies, and discover the way he makes the dollars fly, you’d ask -him immediately to double your allowance; and being a person of unusual -penetration—as I can see, with half a glance, from his picture—he -decides to keep you at the other end of the universe, so that you may -never discover what a perfect Rothschild he is, and go in for putting -the screw on.’ - -Edward Hawthorn smiled quietly. ‘It won’t do, my dear fellow,’ he said, -glancing up quickly at the handsome open face in the big photograph. -‘My father isn’t at all that sort of person, I feel certain, from his -letters. He’s doing all he can to advance me in life; and though he -hasn’t seen me for so long, I’m the one interest he really lives upon. -I certainly did think it very queer, after I’d taken my degree at -Cambridge and got the Arabic scholarship and so forth, that my father -didn’t want me to go out to the island. I naturally wanted to see my -old home and my father and mother, before settling down to my business -in life; and I wrote and told them so. But my father wrote back, -putting me off with all sorts of made-up excuses: it was the bad season -of the year; there was a great deal of yellow fever about; he was very -anxious I should get to work at once upon my law-reading; he wanted me -to be called to the bar as early as possible.’ - -‘And so, just to please the old gentleman, you left your Arabic, that -you were such a swell at, and set to work over Benjamin on Sales and -Pollock on Mortgages for the best years of your lifetime, when you -ought to have been shooting birds in Devonshire or yachting with me in -the _Princess of Thule_ off the west coast of Scotland. That’s not my -theory of the way fathers ought to be managed. I consented to become a -barrister, just to pacify Sir Walter for the moment; but my ideas of -barristering are a great deal more elastic and generous than yours are. -I’m quite satisfied with getting my name neatly painted over the door -of some other fellow’s convenient chambers.’ - -‘Yes, yes, of course you are. But then your case is very different. The -heir to an English baronetcy needn’t trouble himself about his future, -like us ordinary mortals; but if I didn’t work hard and get on and make -money, I shouldn’t ever be able to marry—at least during my father’s -lifetime.’ - -‘No more should I, my dear fellow. Absolutely impossible. A man can’t -marry on seven hundred a year, you see, can he?’ - -Edward laughed. ‘I could,’ he answered, ‘very easily. No doubt, you -couldn’t. But then you haven’t got anybody in your eye; while I, you -know, am anxious as soon as I can to marry Marian.’ - -‘Not got anybody in my eye!’ Harry Noel cried, leaning back in his -chair and opening his two hands symbolically in front of him with an -expansive gesture. ‘Oh, haven’t I. Why, there was a pretty little girl -I saw last Wednesday down at the Buckleburies—a Miss Dupuy, I think, -they called her—I positively believe, a countrywoman of yours, Edward, -from Trinidad; or was it Mauritius? one of those sugary-niggery places -or other, anyhow; and I assure you I fairly lost the miserable relics -of my heart to her at our first meeting. She’s going to be at the -boatrace to-morrow; and—yes, I’ll run down there in the dogcart, on the -chance of seeing her. Will you come with me?’ - -‘What o’clock?’ - -‘Eleven. A reasonable hour. You don’t catch me getting up at five -o’clock in the morning and making the historical Noel nose, which I so -proudly inherit, turn blue with cold and shivering at that time of the -day, even for the honour of the old ’varsity. Plenty of time to turn in -and get a comfortable snooze, and yet have breakfast decently before I -drive you down to-morrow morning in my new dogcart.’ - -‘All right. I’ll come with you, then.—Are you going out now? Just post -this letter for me, please, will you?’ - -Noel took it, and glanced at the address half unintentionally. ‘The -Hon. James Hawthorn,’ he said, reading it over in a thoughtless -mechanical way and in a sort of undertone soliloquy, ‘Agualta Estate, -Trinidad.—Why, I didn’t know, Teddy, this mysterious governor of yours -was actually a real live Honourable. What family does he belong to, -then?’ - -‘I don’t think Honourable means that out in the colonies, you know,’ -Edward answered, stirring the embers into a final flicker. ‘I fancy -it’s only a cheap courtesy title given to people in the West Indies -who happen to be members of the Legislative Council.’ He paused for a -minute, still seated, and poking away nervously at the dying embers; -then he said in a more serious voice: ‘Do you know, Noel, there’s a -district judgeship in Trinidad going to be filled up at once by the -Colonial Office?’ - -‘Well, my dear boy; what of that? I know a promising young barrister of -the Inner Temple who isn’t going to be such an absurd fool as to take -the place, even if it’s offered to him.’ - -‘On the contrary, Harry, I’ve sent in an application myself for the -post this very evening.’ - -‘My dear Hawthorn, like Paul, you are beside yourself. Much learning -has made you mad, I solemnly assure you. The place isn’t worth your -taking.’ - -‘Nevertheless, if I can get it, Harry, I mean to take it.’ - -‘If you can get it! Fiddlesticks! If you can get a place as -crossing-sweeper! My good friend, this is simple madness. A young -man of your age, a boy, a mere child’—they were both the same age to -a month, but Harry Noel always assumed the airs of a father towards -his friend Hawthorn—‘why, it’s throwing up an absolute certainty; an -absolute certainty, and no mistake about it. You’re the best Arabic -scholar in England; it would be worth your while stopping here, if it -comes to that, for the sake of the Arabic Professorship alone, rather -than go and vegetate in Trinidad. If you take my advice, my dear -fellow, you’ll have nothing more to say to the precious business.’ - -‘Well, Harry, I have two reasons for wishing to take it. In the first -place, I want to marry Marian as early as possible; and I can’t marry -her until I can make myself a decent income. And in the second place,’ -Edward went on, ‘I want to go out as soon as I can and see my father -and mother in Trinidad. If I get this district judgeship, I shall be -able to write and tell them positively I’m coming, and they won’t have -any excuse of any sort for putting a stopper on it any longer.’ - -‘In other words, in order to go and spy out the hidden wealth of the -old governor, you’re going to throw up the finest opening at the -English bar, and bind yourself down to a life of exile in a remote -corner of the Caribbean Sea. Well, my good friend, if you really do -it, all that I can say is simply this—you’ll prove yourself the most -consummate fool in all Christendom.’ - -‘Noel, I’ve made up my mind; I shall really go there.’ - -‘Then, my dear boy, allow me to tell you, as long as you live you’ll -never cease to regret it. I believe you’ll repent it, before you’re -done, in sackcloth and ashes.’ - -Edward stirred the dead fire nervously once more for a few seconds and -answered nothing. - -‘Good-night, Hawthorn. You’ll be ready to start for the boatrace at ten -to-morrow?’ - -‘Good-night, Harry. I’ll be ready to start. Good-night, my dear fellow.’ - -Noel turned and left the room; but Edward Hawthorn stood still, with -his bedroom candle poised reflectively in one hand, looking long and -steadfastly with fixed eyes at his father’s and mother’s photographs -before him. ‘A grand-looking old man, my father, certainly,’ he said to -himself, scanning the fine broad brow and firm but tender mouth with -curious attention—‘a grand-looking old man, without a doubt, there’s no -denying it. But I wonder why on earth he doesn’t want me to go out to -Trinidad? And a beautiful, gentle, lovable old lady, if ever there was -one on this earth, my mother!’ - - -CHAPTER II. - -You wouldn’t have found two handsomer or finer young fellows on the -day of the boatrace, in all London, than the two who started in the -new dogcart, at ten o’clock, from the door of Harry Noel’s comfortable -chambers in a quaint old house in Duke Street, St James’s. And yet they -were very different in type; as widely different as it is possible -for any two young men to be, both of whom were quite unmistakable and -undeniable young Englishmen. - -Harry Noel was heir of one of the oldest families in Lincolnshire; -but his face and figure were by no means those of the typical Danes -in that distinctively Danish-English county. Sir Walter, his father, -was tall and fair—a bluff, honest, hard-featured Lincolnshire man; but -Harry himself took rather after his mother, the famous Lady Noel, once -considered the most beautiful woman of her time in London society. He -was somewhat short and well knit; a very dark man, with black hair, -moustache, and beard; and his face was handsome with something of a -southern and fiery handsomeness, like his mother’s, reminding one at -times of the purest Italian or Castilian stocks. There was undeniable -pride about his upper lip and his eager flashing black eye; while -his customary nonchalance and coolness of air never completely hid -the hot and passionate southern temperament that underlay that false -exterior of Pall Mall cynicism. A man to avoid picking a quarrel with, -certainly, was Harry Noel, of the Inner Temple, and of Noel Hall, by -Boston, Lincolnshire, barrister-at-law. - -Edward Hawthorn, on the other hand, was tall and slight, though -strongly built; a grand model of the pure Anglo-Saxon type of -manhood, with straight fair hair, nearer white almost than yellow, -and deep-blue eyes, that were none the less transparently true and -earnest because of their intense and unmixed blueness. His face -was clear-cut and delicately moulded; and the pale and singularly -straw-coloured moustache, which alone was allowed to hide any part of -its charming outline, did not prevent one from seeing at a glance the -almost faultless Greek regularity of his perfectly calm and statuesque -features. Harry Noel’s was, in short, the kind of face that women are -most likely to admire: Edward Hawthorn’s was the kind that an artist -would rather rejoice to paint, or that a sculptor would still more -eagerly wish to model. - -‘Much better to go down by the road, you know, Teddy,’ quoth Harry as -they took their seats in the new dogcart. ‘All the cads in London are -going down by rail, of course. The whole riff-raff of our fellow-man -that you’re always talking about so sympathetically, with your absurd -notions, overflows to-day from its natural reservoirs in the third -class into the upper tanks of first and second. Impossible to travel on -the line this morning without getting one’s self jammed and elbowed by -all the tinkers and tailors, soldiers and sailors, butchers and bakers -and candlestick makers in the whole of London. Enough to cure even -you, I should think, of all your nonsensical rights-of-man and ideal -equality business.’ - -‘Have you ever travelled third yourself, to see what it was really -like, Harry? I have; and, for my part, I think the third-class people -are generally rather kinder and more unselfish than the first or -second.’ - -‘My dear fellow, on your recommendation I tried it last week.—But let -that pass, and tell me where are you going to look for your beautiful -young lady from Trinidad or Mauritius? You made her the ostensible -pretext, you know, for going to the boatrace.’ - -‘Oh, for that I trust entirely to the chapter of accidents. She said -she was going down to see the race from somebody’s lawn, facing the -river; and I shall force my way along the path as far as I can get -and quietly look out for her. If we see her, I mean to push boldly -for an introduction to the somebody unnamed who owns the lawn. Leave -the dogcart at some inn or other down, at Putney, stroll along the -river casually till you see a beautiful vision of sweet nineteen or -thereabout, walk in quietly as if the place belonged to you, and there -you are.’ - -They drove on to Putney through the crowded roads, and put the dogcart -up at the _Coach and Horses_. Then Harry and Edward took to the still -more crowded bank, and began to push their way among the densely packed -masses of nondescript humanity in the direction of Barnes Bridge. - -‘Stand out of the way there, can’t you,’ cried Noel, elbowing aside a -sturdy London rough as he spoke with a dexterous application of his -gold-tipped umbrella. ‘Why do you get in people’s way and block the -road up, my good fellow?’ - -‘Where are you a-pushin’ to?’ the rough answered, not without reason, -crowding in upon him sturdily in defence of his natural rights of -standing-room, and bringing his heavy foot down plump on Harry Noel’s -neatly fitting walking-shoe. ‘An’ who are you, I should like to know, -a-shovin’ other people aside permiscuous like, as if you was acthally -the Prince of Wales or the Dook of Edinboro? I’d like to hear you call -me a fellow again, I should!’ - -‘Appears to be some confusion in the man’s mind,’ said Noel, pushing -past him angrily, ‘between a fellow and a felon. I haven’t got an -etymological dictionary handy in my pocket, I regret to say, but I -venture to believe, my good friend, that your philology is quite as -much at fault in this matter as your English grammar.’ - -‘My dear Noel,’ Hawthorn put in, ‘please don’t add insult to injury. -The man’s quite within his right in objecting to your pushing him out -of a place he took up before you came here. Possession’s nine points -of the law, you know—ten in the matter of occupancy, indeed—and surely -he’s the prior occupant.’ - -‘Oh, if you’re going to hold a brief for the defendant, my dear boy, -why, of course I throw the case up.—Besides, there she is, Teddy. By -Jove, there she is. That’s her. Over yonder on the lawn there—the very -pretty girl by the edge of the wall overhanging the path here.’ - -‘What, the one in blue?’ - -‘The one in blue! Gracious goodness, no. The other one—the very pretty -girl; the one in the pink dress, as fresh as a daisy. Did you ever see -anybody prettier?’ - -‘Oh, her,’ Edward answered, looking across at the lady in pink -carelessly. ‘Yes, yes; I see now. Pretty enough, as you say, Harry.’ - -‘Pretty enough! Is that all you’ve got to say about her! You block -of ice! you lump of marble! Why, my dear fellow, she’s absolute -perfection. That’s the worst, now, of a man’s being engaged. He loses -his eye entirely for female beauty.’ - -‘What did you say her name was?’ - -‘Miss Dupuy. I’ll introduce you in a minute.’ - -‘But, my dear Harry, where are you going? We don’t even know the -people.’ - -‘Nothing easier, then. We’ll proceed to make their acquaintance. See -what a lot of cads climbing up and sitting on the wall, obstructing the -view there! First, seat yourself firmly on the top the same as they -do; then, proceed to knock off the other intruders, as if you belonged -to the party by invitation; finally, slip over quietly inside, and -mix with the lot exactly as if you really knew them. There is such -a precious crowd of people inside, that nobody’ll ever find out you -weren’t invited. I’ve long observed that nobody ever does know who’s -who at a garden-party. The father always thinks his son knows you; and -the son always fancies indefinitely you’re particular friends of his -father and mother.’ - -As Harry spoke, he had already clambered up to the top of the wall, -which was steep and high on the side towards the river, but stood only -about two feet above the bank on the inner side; and Edward, seeing -nothing else to do but follow his example, had taken with shame a -convenient seat beside him. In a minute more, Harry was busily engaged -in clearing off the other unauthorised squatters, like an invited -guest; and two minutes later, he had transferred his legs to the inner -side of the wall, and was quietly identifying himself with the party -of spectators on the lawn and garden. Edward, who was blessed with -less audacity in social matters than his easy-going friend, could only -admire without wholly imitating his ready adaptiveness. - -‘Miss Dupuy! How delightful! This is indeed lucky. How very fortunate I -should happen to have dropped down upon you so unexpectedly.’ - -Nora Dupuy smiled a delicious smile of frank and innocent girlish -welcome, and held out her hand to Harry half timidly. ‘Why, Mr Noel,’ -she said, ‘I hadn’t the very slightest idea you knew our good friends -the Boddingtons.’ - -‘_Mr_ Boddington?’ Harry Noel asked with a marked emphasis on the -dubious _Mr_. - -‘No; Colonel Boddington, of the Bengal Staff Corps. Why, how on earth -do you happen not to know their name even?—You have a friend with you, -I perceive.’ - -‘Exactly,’ Harry said, turning to Edward, who was speechless with -surprise. ‘Allow me to introduce him. My friend, Mr Hawthorn, a shining -light of the Utter Bar.—By the way, didn’t you say you came from -Trinidad or Mauritius or Ceylon or somewhere? I remember distinctly you -left upon me a general impression of tropical fragrance, though I can’t -say I recollect precisely the particular habitat.’ - -‘Trinidad,’ she answered, looking down as she spoke.—‘Why, Mr Noel, -what about it?’ - -‘Why, my friend Hawthorn here comes from Trinidad too, so you ought to -be neighbours; though, as he hasn’t been there himself for a great many -years, I daresay you won’t know one another.’ - -‘Oh, everybody in Trinidad knows everybody else, of course,’ Nora -answered, half turning to Edward. ‘It’s such a little pocket colony, -you know, that we’re all first-cousins to one another through all the -island. I’m not acquainted with all the people in Trinidad myself, -naturally, because I haven’t been there since I was a baby, almost; -but my father would be perfectly sure to know him, at anyrate, -I’m confident. I don’t think I ever heard the name of Hawthorn -before—connected with Trinidad, I mean; in fact, I’m sure not.—Do your -people live out there still, Mr Hawthorn, or have they settled in -England?’ - -‘My father and mother are still in the island,’ Edward answered, a -little uncomfortably. ‘My father is Mr James Hawthorn, of Agualta -Estate, a place at the north side of Trinidad.’ - -‘Agualta Estate,’ Nora replied, turning the name over with herself once -more dubiously, ‘Agualta Estate. I’ve certainly heard the name of the -place, I’m sure; but never of your people until this minute. How very -strange.’ - -‘It’s a long time since you’ve been in the island, you say,’ Noel put -in suggestively, ‘and no doubt you’ve forgotten Mr Hawthorn’s father’s -name. He must be pretty well known in Trinidad, I should think, for -he’s an Honourable, you know, and a member of the local Legislative -Council.’ - -Nora looked decidedly puzzled. ‘A member of the Legislative Council,’ -she said in some surprise. ‘That makes it stranger still. My papa’s -a member of Council too, and he knows everybody in the place, you -know—that is to say, of course, everybody who’s anybody; and poor mamma -used always to write me home the chattiest letters, all about everybody -and everybody’s wife and daughters, and all the society gossip of the -colony; and then I see so many Trinidad people when they come home; and -altogether, I really thought I knew, by name at least, absolutely every -one in the whole island.’ - -‘And this proves you must be mistaken, Miss Dupuy,’ Noel put in -carelessly; for he was half jealous that his own special and peculiar -discovery in pretty girls should take so much interest in Edward -Hawthorn. ‘But anyhow, you’ll know all about him before very long, I’ve -no doubt, for Mr Hawthorn is going to take a judgeship in the uttermost -parts of the earth, even Trinidad. He’ll be going out there, no doubt, -from what he tells me, in a month or so from now.’ - -‘Going out there!’ Nora cried. ‘Oh, how nice. Why, I shall be going -out, too, in the end of June. How delightful, if we should both happen -to sail in the same steamer together!’ - -‘I should envy him the voyage immensely,’ said Harry. ‘But you don’t -mean to say, Miss Dupuy, you’re really going to bury yourself alive in -the West Indies?’ - -‘Oh, I don’t call it burying alive, Mr Noel; it’s perfectly delightful, -I believe, from what I remember. Summer all the year round, and -dancing, with all the doors and windows open, from September to April.’ - -‘Pray, inform me which is Colonel Boddington,’ Harry exclaimed eagerly -at this particular moment, as an old gentleman of military aspect -strolled up casually to speak to Nora. ‘Point me out mine host, for -mercy’s sake, or else he’ll be bringing a summary action for ejectment -against us both as rogues and vagabonds.’ - -‘This is he,’ Nora said, as the military gentleman approached nearer. -‘Don’t you know him? Perhaps I’d better introduce you. Colonel -Boddington—Mr Noel, Mr Hawthorn.’ - -‘And I’d better make a clean breast of it at once,’ Harry Noel -continued, smiling gracefully with his pleasant easy smile—Edward -would have sunk bodily into the earth alive, rather than make the -ridiculous confession. ‘The fact is, we’re intruders into your domain, -sir—unauthorised intruders. We took our seats on the top of your wall -to watch the race; and when we got there, we found a number of roughs -were obstructing the view for the ladies of your party; and we assisted -the gentlemen of your set in clearing the ground; and then, as I saw -my friend Miss Dupuy was here, I made bold to jump over and come to -speak to her, feeling sure that a previous acquaintance with her would -be a sufficient introduction into your pleasant society here.—What a -delightful place, sir, you’ve got on the river here.’ - -Colonel Boddington bowed stiffly. ‘Any friend of Miss Dupuy’s is quite -welcome here,’ he said with some chilly severity.—‘Did I understand -Miss Dupuy to say your name was Rowell?’ - -‘Noel,’ Harry corrected, smiling benignly. ‘You may possibly know my -father, Sir Walter Noel, of Noel Hall, near Boston, Lincolnshire.’ - -Colonel Boddington unbent visibly. ‘I’m very glad of this opportunity, -I’m sure, Mr Noel,’ he said with his most gracious manner. ‘As I -remarked before, Miss Dupuy’s friends will always be welcome with us. -Since you’ve dropped in so unexpectedly, perhaps you and Mr—I didn’t -catch the name—will stay to lunch with us. Our friends mean to join us -at lunch after the race is over.’ - -‘Delighted, I’m sure,’ Harry answered, quite truthfully. Nothing -could have pleased him better than this opportunity. ‘Here they -come—here they come! Round the corner! Cambridge heads the race. -Cambridge, Cambridge!’ And for five minutes there was a fluttering of -handkerchiefs and straining of eyes and confused sound of shouts and -laughter, which left no time for Harry or any one else to indulge in -rational conversation. - -After the boats had passed out of sight, and the company had returned -to the paths of sanity once more, Miss Dupuy turned round to Edward and -asked curiously: ‘Do you happen to know any people of the name of Ord, -Mr Hawthorn?’ - -Edward smiled as he answered: ‘General Ord’s family? O yes, I know them -very well indeed—quite intimately, in fact.’ - -‘Ah, then,’ she said gaily—‘then you _are_ the Mr Hawthorn who is -engaged to dear Marian. I felt sure you must be, the moment I heard -your name. Oh, I do so hope, then, you’ll get this vacant Trinidad -appointment.’ - -‘Get it! He’ll get it as sure as fate,’ Harry said, intervening. ‘But -why are you so anxious he should take it?’ - -‘Why, because, then, Marian would get married, of course, and come out -with him to live in Trinidad. Wouldn’t that be charming!’ - -‘If they do,’ Harry said quietly, ‘and if you’re going to be there, -too, Miss Dupuy, I declare I shall come out myself on purpose to visit -them.’ - - - - -DESERT DUST. - - -The visitor to the Egyptian Pyramids who gazes in wonder on those -colossal structures which remain to attest the activity of races long -since passed away, little dreams, perhaps, that in the dust which he -treads beneath his feet, or which whirls in wind-tossed eddies round -his head, there exist particles of so great antiquity, that the vast -age of the Pyramids shrinks into littleness beside it. Such particles -also may be found by the traveller in the snows which cover the higher -slopes of Mont Blanc, and on other parts of the earth’s surface. - -The question arises, What are these particles which thus lie unnoticed -in the dust beneath our feet, and which are fraught with such interest -to mankind? Dust from the Sahara Desert, or from the upper slopes of -Mont Blanc, is found to contain an appreciable quantity of magnetic -iron particles. Examination by the microscope reveals the fact that -the greater part of these are angular in shape, and there can be no -doubt that they are simply the debris of terrestrial magnetic rocks. -But here and there are found mingled with the other particles small but -perfect spheres of iron, their spherical condition pointing to the fact -that they have at some time been in a state of fusion. In speculating -concerning their origin we are at the outset reduced to three -possibilities—they may be of volcanic origin, or the product of fusion -in terrestrial fires, or they may have a non-terrestrial origin, and be -meteoric. A comparison with dust known to be volcanic discovers that -these particles have little or no affinity with volcanic ejections. But -the smoke which issues from the chimneys of our manufacturing districts -contains iron particles similar in appearance to these iron particles -of the Sahara and Mont Blanc; and although these latter are found far -from any of the terrestrial sources which could give them birth, yet -these light particles may be wafted by wind-currents to such immense -distances, that this argument does not come with much strength to -support the contention of their non-terrestrial origin. - -The most crucial test is that of comparative chemical analysis; and -its application to various of these iron particles reveals the fact, -that whilst those known to be of terrestrial origin contained neither -nickel nor cobalt, both these metals are found present in the magnetic -particles collected at the observatory of Saint Marie du Mont, on Mont -Blanc; and a meteoric origin has therefore been assigned to the latter. -Nor is other proof wanting to support this presumption. In addition -to these particles of cosmic dust, larger masses forming meteorites -are not unfrequently found. Their general appearance is that of a dull -black, but occasionally shining black, irregular exterior, forming -a thin crust, which is totally different from the main mass within. -Examined microscopically, the crust, which is usually one-hundredth, -but may occasionally rise to one-eightieth, of an inch in thickness, -is found to be a true black glass, filled with small bubbles, sharply -divided from the interior—facts which indicate that the crust is due -to igneous action, under conditions which have little or no influence -within the mass. The interior usually consists of a stony mass formed -of broken or angular particles. Here we have two alternatives—either it -has been formed by aqueous deposition, or it has had an igneous origin. -The latter, or fiery, origin is again believed to be the true one, -for the reason, that certain microscopic characters always present in -water-deposited crystalline masses are not seen in these meteorites; -and an igneous _non_-terrestrial, rather than an igneous terrestrial, -origin is assigned to them, because the glassy spherical structure -found in meteorites can only be produced terrestrially by a combination -of conditions very rarely found co-existent. The only instance known -where such a combination obtains is in the crater of Kilauea, where -the volcanic production known as Pele’s Hair somewhat resembles the -glassy structure of meteorites. Nor is this all; for, knowing as we do -that meteors occasionally reach the earth in the form of substantial -masses, the suggestion has been ventured that they fall in sufficient -numbers to affect its bulk in the course of ages; and assuming, as we -are entitled to assume, that these masses, to which we are unable to -assign definitely a meteoric origin, are indeed meteorites, the link -connecting them with cosmic (non-terrestrial) dust has then been found. -M. Tissandier examining dust which he detached from the surface of a -Bohemian meteorite, found its microscopic characters to resemble those -of the dust-particles of Mont Blanc; and even more proof is not wanting -to vindicate its non-terrestrial origin. - -The connection between cosmic dust and meteors having been thus traced, -we may now proceed to a brief consideration of their history ere they -find a grave in the earth. - -On a calm clear night, when above us gleams - - The sky - With all its bright sublimity of stars, - -with their eternal suggestions of peace and immortality, there comes -ever and anon from out the darkness a light darting across the heavens -with increasing brightness. Sometimes the meteor will traverse a large -portion of the heavens, travelling perhaps the entire vault, and then -disappearing, while still bright, below the horizon. Occasionally, -they may be seen to fall to earth; but more commonly, after a short -course, the meteoric gleam dies away, leaving us to gaze again at the -calm fixed brightness of the familiar constellations. The differences -between these various classes of meteors are those of degree, and not -of kind. Omitting for a moment the consideration of their origin, it -is obvious that these bodies, no matter how they first originate, come -within the attractive force of the earth, and enter its atmosphere in -obedience to that attraction. The intense rapidity with which they -fall generates an ever-increasing amount of heat, under the influence -of which they become luminous, and begin to be consumed. A continuance -of this process gradually diminishes their bulk, the smaller ones -being entirely consumed high above the earth, and constituting the -shooting-stars whose passage is as evanescent as a gleam of light. It -is the dust formed as they are consumed, which, slowly settling to -earth, constitutes the cosmic particles to which reference has been -made. - -But whilst on almost any clear night some few meteors may be seen -to flash across the sky, observation has revealed the fact, that in -certain months of the year, and on certain dates in those months, -shooting-stars are much more numerous than in other months and on -ordinary nights. Herr Schwabe, referring to the discovery of the -sun-spot period as the result of continuous observation undertaken for -the sake of recording phenomena, says: ‘I went out like Saul to find -my father’s asses, and lo! I found a kingdom.’ The remark might be -echoed by those who made this discovery of the periodicity of these -shooting-stars, leading, as it has done, to the discovery of facts -hitherto unsuspected, and pointing to a connection and commonness of -origin between phenomena apparently very widely divergent. At first, -the meteor-streams of August 10 and November 14 were alone recognised. -Soon it was discovered that the month of April was one in which a -very large number of meteors were visible, and the 20th was fixed -as the date for the maximum shower. But not only was it found that -these evenings were characterised by large showers of meteors, but -the further fact was ascertained, that all the meteors on any given -evening emanated from one quarter of the heavens. Thus, in the shower -which occurs on the 20th of April—although the shower has not been -very marked of late years—the radiant point for the meteors is in the -constellation Lyra; hence it is termed the Lyriad shower. In like -manner, the August train has its radiant point in Perseus; and that of -November 14 in Leo. It was still, however, thought that the meteors of -ordinary nights had no connection of this kind; but later observations -revealed the fact that they also are controlled by similar laws; and -the further discovery was made that some, notably the mid-November -swarm, vary in intensity from year to year, in obedience to regular -laws, the entire cycle in that instance requiring thirty-three and a -quarter years for its completion. - -But although the life-history of the cosmic dust-particles of the -Sahara has thus been traced back until they are found to be component -parts of meteor-swarms, whose movements are controlled and dominated -by definite laws, there yet remains the question of their origin, the -explanation of the annual periodicity, and why this secular cycle -should exist. Meteors being thus found to occur in these streams, it -became possible to calculate their orbits, and M. Schiaparelli did this -with the August swarm. A connection had begun to be suspected between -meteors and comets, and it was found that the orbit of the August -meteors, as calculated by the Italian physicist, coincided with that -of a known comet. More life being thus given to the hypothesis, the -orbit of the November stream was similarly calculated. It was found -to be almost identical with the independently ascertained orbit of -Tempel’s comet. Other corroborative elements soon followed. The April -meteors perform their journey in space along the orbit of the comet -of 1861, while many other meteor-streams have been discovered to be -similarly related to other comets. With the knowledge of the connection -between comets and meteor-swarms, and our knowledge of the constitution -of meteorites themselves, the vexed question as to the constitution -of comets would seem to be rendered more easy of solution; but the -subject is beset with many difficulties, and comets well situated for -observation do not too often visit our skies. - -Having traced back the history of the desert dust-particles until they -have been found to be intimately bound up, if indeed not themselves -forming bodies whose motions have laws ‘as fixed as planets have,’ it -now remains to take yet another step back into the history of things, -and endeavour to form some idea as to their first origin, and the part -they have played, or play, in the economy of nature. Many and strange -are the hypotheses which have from time to time been put forth. Some -have held meteors to be the scattered remnants of an exploded planet, -‘battered by the shocks of doom.’ Other speculators have thought that -this dust of space originated in ejections from volcanic vents when the -volcanoes which stud the surface of our satellite were in energy. But -for this to be true, it seems somewhat, though not entirely necessary -that the moon’s volcanoes should yet be active; whilst the question -arises as to the possibility of the eruptive forces on the moon to -have expelled matter beyond the influence of its attraction; and -those who give most weight to these objections have themselves been -inclined to believe that the true origin of meteors is to be found in -eruption from one of the minor planets whose attractive force would -be less than the moon; but when it is remembered how slight would be -the chance of any such matter crossing the earth’s path, such a theory -loses all probability. There have not been wanting, either, those who, -having in mind the brecciated structure of meteorites and the fewness -of the characters in which they differ from terrestrial rocks, have -boldly proclaimed for them a terrestrial origin, imagining them to have -been erupted from volcanic vents at an early period of the world’s -history—a view of course not open to the very serious objections which -surround the minor planets’ hypothesis. Yet another class of theorists -hold that the sun itself is the source of these wandering streams, they -being continually sent far into space by those mighty eruptions with -which we know that orb to be continually convulsed. It is, however, -probable that none of these theories of an eruptive origin, whether -from satellite, planet, or sun, is the true one—it being more likely -that meteors are the residue of nebulous matter not gathered into -planets when the different members of the solar system began to exist -independently, but which each hour, day, and year is being slowly -gathered in by the earth and the other planets as these bodies come -within the sphere of their gravitative influences. Thus much as to the -origin of these meteoric swarms. - -The final question now arises as to whether they play any part in -the economy of nature. The aggregate weight of these small scattered -streams must be beyond comprehension, and is probably to be estimated -by billions of tons. These small masses are constantly falling towards -the earth, some reaching its actual surface. So it must be with the -moon, and with the other planets and satellites which compose the solar -system; and this continual impact of meteors, however inappreciable its -influence on the earth, cannot be without its heat-producing effects on -the larger bodies of our system. If this be so, how much greater must -be the result produced by the enormous number of these bodies which, -from a variety of causes, would be incessantly precipitated upon the -sun’s surface; and the suggestion has been put forward that we may -find in this a sufficient explanation of the apparently inexhaustible -emission of light and heat which the sun is ever radiating into -infinite space. - -And if it be true that these meteors have had their origin in solar -eruptions, we are brought to the strange reflection, that the matter -which in the yesterday of ages was hurled with awful energy from the -sun’s surface, is being partly returned to it in the present age, as -the energy and matter of to-day will be partly returned to feed its -fires in the ages of to-morrow. Should these speculations be correct, -then our meteor-systems do indeed play an important part in the economy -of nature. All forms of force on earth, the energies of man himself, -have their physical source in the centre of our system; and if it be -that the energy of that source is being ever renewed by the physical -impact of meteoric masses, they have an equal title with the sun to be -regarded as the source of energy, although it must not be forgotten -that the rain of meteors on the sun’s surface is itself due to the -attractive force inherent in the sun itself. - -Will the continual gathering in by the sun, the earth, and other -planets, gradually lead up to the time when these meteoric swarms shall -have ceased to be, and the sun grow cold and dull? Who shall say? There -are many causes to delay this end. As the sun, together with the solar -system, sweeps through space, it will pass through regions now rich, -now poor, in meteoric aggregations, and the total amount of matter -which it will gather in will, therefore, vary from century to century, -from epoch to epoch. Such are the thoughts up to which we are led in -pursuing the history of our particles of dust. But whether or not these -speculations be true, the study of this subject teaches many a theme of -interest for the leisure hours of our workaday world. - - - - -A GOLDEN ARGOSY. - -_A NOVELETTE._ - -BY FRED. M. WHITE. - - -CHAPTER I. - -Eleven o’clock! Before the vibration of the nearest chimes had died -away, the rain—which had long been threatening over London—poured down -for some five minutes in a fierce gust, and then, as if exhausted by -its efforts, subsided into a steady drizzle. The waves of light, cast -on the glistening pavement from the gas lamps flickering in the wind, -shone on the stones; but the unstable shadows were cast back by the -stronger refulgence of the electric light at Covent Garden. Back into -the gathered mist of Long Acre the pallid gleam receded; while, on the -opposite side, the darkness of Russell Street seemed darker still. By -Tavistock Street was a gin-shop, whose gilded front, points of flame, -and dazzling glass seemed to smile a smile of crafty welcome to the -wayfarer. A few yards away from the knot of loafers clustering with -hungry eyes round the door, stood a woman. There were others of her -sex close by, but not like her, and though her dress was poor and -dilapidated to the last degree, the others saw instinctively she was -not as they. She was young, presumably not more than five-and-twenty -years, and on her face she bore the shadow of a great care. Gazing, -half sullenly, half wistfully, into the temptingly arrayed window, her -profile strongly marked by the great blaze of light farther up the -street, the proud carriage of the head formed a painful contrast to -her scanty garb and sorrow-stricken face. She was a handsome, poorly -dressed woman, with a haughty bearing, a look of ever-present care, and -she had twopence in her pocket. - -If you will consider what it is to have such a meagre sum standing -between you and starvation, you may realise the position of this woman. -To be alone, unfriended, penniless, in a city of four million souls, -is indeed a low depth of human misery. Perhaps she thought so, for -her mind was quickly formed. Pushing back the door with steady hand, -she entered the noisy bar. She had half expected to be an object of -interest, perhaps suspicion; but, alas, too many of us in this world -carry our life’s history written in our faces, to cause any feelings of -surprise. The barman served her with the cordial she ordered, and with -a business-like ‘chink,’ swept away her last two coppers. Even had he -known they were her last, the man would have evinced no undue emotion. -He was not gifted with much imagination, and besides, it was a common -thing there to receive the last pittance that bridges over the gulf -between a human being and starvation. There she sat, resting her tired -limbs, deriving a fictitious strength from the cordial, dimly conscious -that the struggle against fate was past, and nothing remained for it -but—a speedy exit from further trouble—one plunge from the bridges! -Slowly and meditatively she sipped at her tumbler, wondering—strange -thought—why those old-fashioned glasses had never been broken. Slowly, -but surely, the liquid decreased, till only a few drops remained. The -time had come, then! She finished it, drew her scanty shawl closer -about her shoulders, and went out again into the London night. - -Only half-past eleven, and the streets filled with people. Lower down, -in Wellington Street, the theatre-goers were pouring out of the Lyceum. -The portico was one dazzling blaze of beauty and colour; men in evening -dress, and dainty ladies waiting for their luxurious carriages. The -outcast wandered on, wondering vaguely whether there was any sorrow, -any ruin, any disgrace, remorse, or dishonour in that brilliant crowd, -and so she drifted into the Strand, heedlessly and aimlessly. Along the -great street as far as St Clement’s Danes, unnoticed and unheeded, her -feet dragging painfully, she knew not where. Then back again to watch -the last few people leaving the Lyceum, and then unconsciously she -turned towards the river, down Wellington Street, to Waterloo Bridge. -On that Bridge of Sighs she stopped, waiting, had she but known it, for -her fate. - -It was quiet there on that wet night—few foot-passengers about, and -she was quite alone as she stood in one of the buttresses, looking -into the shining flood beneath. Down the river, as far as her eye -could reach, were the golden points of light flickering and swaying -in the fast-rushing water. The lap of the tide on the soft oozing mud -on the Surrey side mingled almost pleasantly with the swirl and swish -of the churning waves under the bridge. The dull thud of the cabs and -omnibuses in the Strand came quietly and subdued; but she heard them -not. The gas lamps had changed to the light of day, the heavy winter -sky was of the purest blue, and the hoarse murmur of the distant Strand -was the rustling of the summer wind in the trees. The far-off voices -of the multitude softened and melted into the accents of one she used -to love; and this is what she saw like a silent picture, the memories -ringing in her head like the loud sea a child hears in a shell. A long -old house of gray stone, with a green veranda covered with ivy and -flowering creepers; a rambling lawn, sloping away to a tiny lake, all -golden with yellow iris and water-lilies. In the centre of the lawn, -a statue of Niobe; and seated by that statue was herself, and with -her a girl some few years younger—a girl with golden hair surrounding -an oval lace, fair as the face of an angel, and lighted by truthful -velvety violet eyes. This was the picture mirrored in the swift water. -She climbed the parapet, looked steadily around: the lovely face in the -water was so near, and she longed to hear the beautiful vision speak. -And lo! at that moment the voice of her darling spoke, and a hand was -laid about her waist, and the voice said: ‘Not that way, I implore -you—not that way.’ - -The woman paused, slowly regained her position on the bridge, and gazed -into the face of her companion with dilated eyes. But the other girl -had her back to the light, and she could not see. - -‘A voice from the grave. Have I been dreaming?’ she said, passing her -hand wearily across her brow. - -‘A voice of providence. Can you have reflected on what you were doing? -Another moment, and think of it—oh, think of it!’ - -‘A voice from the grave,’ repeated the would-be suicide slowly. ‘Surely -this must be a good omen. Her voice!—how like her voice.’ - -The rescuing angel paused a minute, struggling with a dim memory. Where -had she in her turn heard that voice before? With a sudden impulse, -they seized each other, and bore towards the nearest gaslight, and -there gazed intently in each other’s face. The guardian angel looked -a look of glad surprise; the pale face of the hapless woman was -glorified, as she seized her rescuer round her neck and sobbed on her -breast piteously. - -‘Nelly, Miss Nelly, my darling; don’t you know me?’ - -‘Madge, why, Madge! O Madge! to think of it—to think of it.’ - -Presently they grew calmer. The girl called Nelly placed the other -woman’s arm within her own and walked quietly away from the hated -bridge; and, thoroughly conquered, the hapless one accompanied her. No -word was spoken as they walked on for a mile or so, across the Strand, -towards Holborn, and there disappeared. - - * * * * * - -The night-traffic of London went on. The great thoroughfares plied -their business, unheedful of tragedy and sorrow. A life had been saved; -but what is one unit in the greatest city of the universe? The hand of -fate was in it. It was only one of those airy trifles of which life -is composed, and yet the one minute that saved a life, unravelled the -first tiny thread of a tangled skein that bound up a great wrong. - - -CHAPTER II. - -Two years earlier. It was afternoon, and the sun, climbing over the -house, shone into a sickroom at Eastwood—a comfortable, cheerful, old -room; from floor to ceiling was panelled oak, and the walls decorated -with artist proofs of famous pictures. The two large mullioned windows -were open to the summer air, and from the outside came the delicate -scent of mignonette and heliotrope in the tiled _jardinières_ on the -ledges. The soft Persian carpet of pale blue deadened the sound of -footsteps; rugs of various harmonious hues were scattered about; and -the articles of virtu and costly bric-à-brac were more suitable to a -drawing-room than a bedchamber. - -On the bed reclined the figure of a man, evidently in the last stage -of consumption. His cheek was flushed and feverish, and his fine blue -eyes were unnaturally bright with the disease which was sapping his -vital energy. An old man undoubtedly, in spite of his large frame and -finely moulded chest, which, though hollow and wasted, showed signs -of a powerful physique at some remote period. His forehead was high -and broad and powerful; his features finely chiselled; but the mouth, -though benevolent-looking, was shifty and uneasy. He looked like a -kind man and a good friend; but his face was haunted by a constant -fear. With a pencil, he was engaged in tracing some characters on a -sheet of paper; and ever and anon, at the slightest movement, even the -trembling of a leaf, he looked up in agitation. The task was no light -one, for his hand trembled, and his breath came and went with what -was to him a violent exertion. Slowly and painfully the work went on; -and as it approached completion, a smile of satisfaction shot across -his sensitive mouth, at the same time a look of remorseful sorrow -filled his whole face. It was only a few words on a piece of paper -he was writing, but he seemed to realise the importance of his work. -It was only a farewell letter; but in these few valedictory lines -the happiness of two young lives was bound up. At last the task was -finished, and he lay back with an air of great content. - -At that moment, a woman entered the room. The sick man hid the paper -hastily beneath the pillow with a look of fear on his face, pitiable -to see. But the woman who entered did not look capable of inspiring -any such sentiment. She was young and pretty, a trifle vain, perhaps, -of her good looks and attractive appearance, but the model of what a -‘neat-handed Phillis’ should be. - -Directly the dying man saw her, his expression changed to one of -intense eagerness. Beckoning her to come close to him, he drew her head -close to his face and said: ‘She is not about, is she? Do you think -she can hear what I am saying? Sometimes I fancy she hears my very -thoughts.’ - -‘No, sir,’ replied the maid. ‘Miss Wakefield is not in the house just -now; she has gone into the village.’ - -‘Very good. Listen, and answer me truly. Do you ever hear from—from -Nelly now? Poor child, poor child!’ - -The woman’s face changed from one of interest to that of shame and -remorse. She looked into the old man’s face, and then burst into a fit -of hot passionate tears. - -‘Hush, hush!’ he cried, terrified by her vehemence. ‘For God’s sake, -stop, or it will be too late, too late!’ - -‘O sir, I must tell you,’ sobbed the contrite woman, burying her face -in the bedclothes. ‘Letters came from Miss Nelly to you, time after -time; but I destroyed them all.’ - -‘Why?’ The voice was stern, and the girl looked up affrighted. - -‘O sir, forgive me. Surely you know. Is it possible to get an order -from Miss Wakefield, and not obey? Indeed, I have tried to speak, but I -was afraid to do anything. Even you, sir’—— - -‘Ah,’ said the invalid, with a sigh of ineffable sadness, ‘I know how -hard it is. The influence she has over one is wonderful, wonderful. But -I am forgetting. Margaret Boulton, look me in the face. Do you love -Miss Nelly as you used to do, and would you do something for her if I -asked you?’ - -‘God be my witness, I would, sir,’ replied the girl solemnly. - -‘Do you know where she is?’ - -‘Alas, no. It is a year since we heard.—But master, if you ask me to -give her a letter or a paper, I will do so, if I have to beg my way to -London to find her. I have been punished for not speaking out before. -Indeed, indeed, sir, you may trust me.’ - -He looked into her face with a deep unfathomable glance for some -moments; but the girl returned his gaze as steadily. - -‘I think I can,’ he said at length. ‘Now, repeat after me: “I swear -that the paper intrusted to my care shall be delivered to the person -for whom it is intended; and that I will never part with it until it is -safely and securely delivered.”’ - -The woman repeated the words with simple solemnity. - -‘Now,’ he said, at the same time producing the paper he had written -with such pain and care, ‘I deliver this into your hands, and may -heaven bless and prosper your undertaking. Take great care, for it -contains a precious secret, and never part with it while life remains.’ - -The paper was a curious-looking document enough, folded small, but -bearing nothing outside to betray the secret it contained. We shall see -in the future how it fared. - -The girl glanced at the folded paper, and thrust it rapidly in her -bosom. A smile of peace and tranquillity passed over the dying man’s -face, and he gave her a look of intense gratitude. At this moment -another woman entered the room. She was tall and thin, with a face of -grave determination, and a mouth and chin denoting a firmness amounting -to cruelty. There was a dangerous light in her basilisk eyes at this -moment, as she gave the servant a glance of intense hate and malice—a -look which seemed to search out the bottom of her soul. - -‘Margaret, what are you doing here? Leave the room at once. How often -have I told you never to come in here.’ - -Margaret left; and the woman with the snaky eyes busied herself -silently about the sickroom. The dying man watched her in a dazed -fascinated manner, as a bird turns to watch the motions of a serpent; -and he shivered as he noticed the feline way in which she moistened -her thin lips. He tried to turn his eyes away, but failed. Then, as if -conscious of his feelings, the woman said: ‘Well, do you hate me worse -than usual to-day?’ - -‘You know I never hated you, Selina,’ he replied wearily. - -‘Yes, you do,’ she answered, with a sullen glowering triumph in her -eyes. ‘You do hate me for the influence I have over you. You hate me -because you dare not hate me. You hate me because I parted you from -your beggar’s brat, and trained you to behave as a man should.’ - -Perfectly cowed, he watched her moistening her thin lips, till his eyes -could no longer see. Presently, he felt a change creeping over him: his -breath came shorter and shorter; and his chest heaved spasmodically. -With one last effort he raised himself up in his bed. ‘Selina,’ he said -painfully, ‘let me alone; oh, let me alone!’ - -‘Too late,’ she replied, not caring to disguise her triumphant tone. - -He lay back with the dews of death clustering on his forehead. -Suddenly, out of the gathering darkness grew perfect dazzling light; -his lips moved; the words ‘Nelly, forgive!’ were audible like a -whispered sigh. He was dead. - -The dark woman bent over him, placing her ear to his heart; but no -sound came. ‘Mine!’ she said—‘mine, mine! At last, all mine!’ - -The thin webs of fate’s weaving were in her hand securely—all save -one. It was not worth the holding, so it floated down life’s stream, -gathering as it went. - - - - -THE MALDIVE ISLANDS. - - -An interesting monograph, by Mr H. C. P. Bell, C.C.S., has been -published by the Ceylon government, which throws a flood of light on -the Maldive islands and their history. They seem to have been colonised -about the beginning of the Christian era; but until the beginning of -the thirteenth century, nothing certain can be established. At that -time, however, the people seem to have been converted to Mohammedanism, -and a connection established with the Malabar State of Cannanore, -which lasted, with occasional interruptions, till about the beginning -of the sixteenth century, when, with the rise of the Portuguese power -in the East, the suzerainty over the group was assumed by them. With -the decline of Portuguese authority and the rise of Dutch ascendency -in Ceylon in the beginning of the seventeenth century, the connection -with the Maldives was assumed by the latter, and remained in their -hands until 1796, when it naturally passed to the English on their -acquisition of Ceylon, and has continued undisturbed till the present -day. The political connection, however, has been in the hands of -the English almost purely formal, no interference with the internal -administration of the group having been attempted. - -The people are very timid, and averse from intercourse with Europeans. -The only sign of dependence on Ceylon is the yearly Embassy, conveying -the usual letter from the sultan to the governor of Ceylon, with the -nominal tribute, consisting principally of Maldive mats and sweetmeats. -A reply is sent, and a return present made of betel nuts and spices, -&c. The presentation of the letter to the governor is rather curious -and interesting. The Embassy lands at the custom-house at Colombo, -when a procession is formed, headed by a native Ceylon force called -Lascareens of the guard, venerable as a remnant of the old days of -the Kandy kings, but only formidable now from the excruciating nature -of their music. Then follow Maldivian and Ceylon officials, in front -of the ambassador, who, clad in a long silk robe, carries the letter -on a silver tray on his head. Other officials follow, and the whole -procession is closed by the Maldive boatmen carrying the presents. -The audience is over in a few minutes; and then, in a few days, when -they have got the governor’s reply, the Maldivians return to Mali, and -nothing more is heard of them for another year, except in the way of -trade. - -Having secured a letter of introduction from the government of Ceylon -to the sultan, I chartered a schooner of about ninety tons, called -the _Josephine_, and provisioned her for a long trip, as it was very -uncertain when I would be able to get back, so treacherous are the -currents in these seas. I engaged a European to navigate the schooner; -and the native crew consisted of five men and two boys. I had likewise -a cook and two boys for our own mess. The cabin was pretty roomy; but -it was stuffy and hot, and full of all kinds of creeping things, so -that I went into it as seldom as possible, and lived day and night -under an awning on the poop. We had an uneventful voyage across, light -winds and calms prevailing all the way, the only things that occurred -to interest us being the glorious sunrises and sunsets. One night, -however, when lying becalmed, we were startled out of sleep by a -tremendous swishing of water, and there, two hundred yards from us, we -saw a waterspout breaking up. The cloud was close down on the surface -of the water, and condensation was so rapid that in twenty minutes it -had entirely disappeared. By-and-by we sighted the north end of Mali -Atoll; and here we first realised the force of the currents, for on -trying to make our entrance into the lagoon, we were carried past the -channel, and had to put about sharp, to avoid going on to the reef, on -which the heavy swell from the open sea was breaking. We then ran for -the channel between Mali and Gafor Atolls; and getting a pilot at the -latter, we again tried to work into the lagoon in the former through -a narrow opening. Here the schooner missed stays in one of our tacks; -and before we could get way on her and try to get her round again, we -were on the top of the reef. Luckily, we were in a sheltered position; -but the current was running like a sluice, rendering us quite helpless; -and the teeth-like points of live coral projecting upwards from the -bottom looked very dangerous. Presently we caught on one; and dreading -a capsize, we launched the boats at once; for there was not a point of -the reef above water for miles, and no swimmer could have reached dry -land in such a current. After a few anxious moments, the schooner swung -free, and we dropped the anchor in a sort of pool. All the afternoon -we were engaged in kedging out into the channel; and finally, after -enormous labour, we got into deep water, where we anchored for the -night. - -The beauty of these coral reefs is something indescribable; nowhere -else, either on sea or land, are such colours to be seen. On the inner -edge, where there is considerable depth of water, the shade is of the -deepest green; and as the water gets shallower towards the sea-face, it -is lighter and lighter, till it is almost yellow just where the rollers -form a fringe of white foam; and beyond all, there is the deep blue -of the open sea. The whole has a sort of metallic sheen, wonderfully -weird and unearthly. Curiously, too, it is only when there is a slight -ripple that one can see the reefs at a distance from the deck of a -vessel. When it is a dead calm, you cannot see them until you are -close above them. On Gafor Atoll we saw the wreck of the screw steamer -_Seagull_, lost some years ago, but still standing up on the reef, as -when first she struck. - -Next day we got into the lagoon, and with a fair wind, made rapid -progress for a time; but the navigation was intricate, and it was -next evening before we finally cast anchor at the Sultan’s island. -The following day, I delivered my letter of introduction, and sent -my presents to the sultan and the higher officials. During the next -fortnight, whilst we lay at anchor, I received the greatest kindness -and hospitality from the Maldivians; official visits were paid and -returned, and all the time the sultan’s barge, rowed by sixteen men, -was at my disposal. The barge was of great length, but narrow beam; -and at the stern was a broad platform, projecting over the sides, with -a stout post in the centre to hold on by—a necessary precaution, as -the jerk of sixteen oars was very great. When I called at a house, no -matter what was the hour, I was obliged to partake of tea and biscuits; -and it was rather curious to see, in such remote and unfrequented -places, tins of Huntley and Palmer and Peek Frean figuring on the -table. After refreshments, capital Manilas were handed round, and -Maltese cigarettes. On the officials returning my visits on board the -schooner, the teapot was brought out; and it was a treat to see how my -preserves and tinned fruits were enjoyed. But what pleased them most of -all was a bottle of tonic water; and after tossing off the glass, they -would rub their stomachs and say: ‘Pate ka waste bahut achcha hai,’ -meaning, ‘Good for the stomach.’ - -The Maldivians are a quiet peaceable folk, very hospitable, though -extremely afraid of Europeans, and averse from having intercourse -with them. They are noted for their kindness to shipwrecked mariners; -and have repeatedly earned the thanks of the Ceylon government for -their conduct in this respect. They are of small stature. The women -are rather inclined to plumpness, whilst many of them are very -good-looking. In colour they are of a dark olive, and I noticed a good -deal of mixture of race among them. They are strict Mohammedans; but -the women are not kept in such seclusion as on the continent of India. -Children were very numerous; and round, fat, healthy toddling things -they were. The town of Mali is fairly well laid out, with good broad -streets; and as the soil is pure sand, and only trodden by naked feet, -cleanliness is the rule. In the houses, everything looks neat and -in good order; but I must admit that I only saw those of the better -class. The houses are mostly of wattle and daub, with thatched roofs -overhanging the eaves; and the compounds were inclosed by a fence of -cocoa-nut leaves, prettily plaited at the top. - -The people live mostly on fish and rice. All the atolls swarm with -various kinds of fishes, amongst which the bonito predominates; and -they are very cheap. For one rupee we got almost as many as we liked to -take; and for the same sum, were offered turtles that would have made -an alderman’s mouth water. Cocoa-nuts abound of course; but plantains -are scarce; and the only other fruits I saw were limes and melons. - -The Maldivians are capital boat-builders. I was surprised to see -the graceful lines of the smaller craft, and the skilful way they -are handled, with the mat-sails, and heavy loads piled up above the -gunwale. The sea-going vessels called _dhonies_ are not so handsome; -but their huge lateen sail looks very well; and we found that they -could go closer to the wind and sail better than our _Josephine_, smart -though she was, and esteemed the fastest schooner in Colombo. - -Common cotton cloth is woven on the atolls, and Maldivian mats are -justly celebrated for the beauty of their designs and harmonious -colours. They are woven with a kind of rush on a warp of coir fibre. -The exports from the islands consist principally of dried fish, -cocoa-nuts, coir fibre and coir yarn. For imports, rice is the -principal item, together with areca nuts, sugar, cotton cloth, &c. - -The botany of the Maldives is very simple, the prevailing feature being -cocoa-nut trees, which grow wherever there is foothold for them. I saw -also the bread-fruit tree, and several members of the Ficus tribe, such -as _Elastica Indica_, _Ficus religiosa_, banian, &c.; also the common -bamboo, sumach, _Thespesia propulnea_, _Plumiera_, tapeta, cassava or -_Manioc colocasias_, &c. Roses were cultivated with some success. No -doubt, most of the trees have been imported, though the ocean currents -must also have conveyed seeds from other countries. - -Of animals, there are no indigenous species. The sultan has a few -imported cows of the Brahminee kind; and a horse, a present from the -Ceylon government some years ago. Goats are plentiful. I saw neither -dog nor cat; but a kind of rat is said to commit great havoc among the -cocoa-nut trees, which they climb, and destroy the nuts. Lizards swarm -in immense numbers; and when going along with a crowd, one could hardly -step without putting one’s foot on a fat long-tailed specimen. Of birds -there were a great many of the aquatic kind, gulls, gannets, noddies, -herons, &c., and among land-birds, of course the ubiquitous crow soon -makes its appearance. The kite also is seen sailing about and picking -up any garbage that comes in its way. Plovers, sandpipers, &c., are -also said to frequent the group; but I saw none of them. Of fishes, -sharks are plentiful; and the bonito literally swarms in the lagoons. -We saw also several varieties of the perch, the wrasse, &c. Turtles -abound. - -The configuration of the Maldive group is singular, the northern and -southern portions lying in a single line of atolls, whilst in the -centre there is a double row. Nearly all are of an oval shape, with -the longest axis north and south. They all consist of an annular ring -of coral reef, a quarter to half a mile broad, with a lagoon in the -centre, of the almost uniform depth of twenty-three to twenty-five -fathoms. There are many openings from the open sea to the interior, -through which the currents rush with great violence. The soundings on -the outer face of the reef are about two hundred and fifty to three -hundred fathoms sheer, whilst at a cable’s length from the edge they -are still more profound. On the inner edge, the reef drops sheer to the -usual depth of the lagoon. In some of the narrow channels between the -atolls you get four or five fathoms on one side of the vessel, when you -can see the smallest object on the white bottom; and on the other side -the line goes down to a hundred fathoms. All through the lagoons there -are numerous islands dotted about, forming beautiful objects in the -placid blue waters, with their pure white strip of sandy beach; then -a margin of scrubby jungle, the centre being filled up with a dense -thicket of cocoa-nut trees. There are also numerous patches of reefs, -some of them perfect little atolls. - -Notwithstanding the more modern notion of the formation of coral -reefs on a foundation that is gradually rising, as exemplified by the -Tortugas group, I think these Maldivian atolls are perfect examples -of Darwin’s theory, that they are generally formed on land that is -sinking gradually. How, otherwise, can you account for the profound -depths on the outer face or the comparatively deep water on the inner -edge, and all through the lagoon, when it is admitted that the little -coral-‘insect’ builder cannot work in anything over ten or twelve -fathoms? All the patches of reefs in the lagoons have a sheer drop -to the general level of the floor. There is not a point on any of -the atolls more than six to eight feet above the sea, and these only -where vegetation has managed to get a hold, and in the course of time -gathered a little soil about it, as leaves decayed and old plants -died down and made way for fresh generations. It is said, indeed, by -the Maldivians that some of the atolls show cocoa-nut trees already -partly submerged; but of this I can give no testimony from personal -observation. - -We left Mali amid the openly expressed regret of many of the officials; -and the sultan and others sent us various presents of mats, fruits, &c. -Part of the sultan’s present consisted of a young bullock, which we -carried to Colombo, as it was hardly fat enough to be worth killing. We -had great difficulty in getting out of the atoll, in consequence of the -frightful currents and light winds, and we took two days to do about -twenty miles. On entering the Tulisdu channel, we ran into frightful -danger, for though we thought we had given a wide berth to three -contiguous patches of coral, we were right in among them before we knew -what we were about. The water was rushing over them like a sluice; and -although the wind was fair, our schooner yawed about so terribly, that -every moment I thought we would be dashed to pieces on one of them, -when she took one of her wild rushes. However, we gradually worked our -way into the channel. Our great object now was to keep close up to -the northern shore, so that when we got into the southerly set of the -current outside, we would be able to give a wide berth to the point -on the other side, and on which the heavy rollers from the open sea -were breaking with great violence. In spite of every effort, however, -we were gradually borne over towards the dreaded point, until at one -moment, when we were on the top of the swell, we looked down the slope -of it to the rugged edge of the reef, as the momentarily retreating -water laid it bare. It was a bad quarter of an hour for me; and the -relief was intense when I saw that at last we were steadily drawing -away from the terrible danger. Another five days took us to Colombo, -without anything happening which would be worth writing here; and next -day I paid off the schooner, after having spent seven pleasant weeks on -board of her. - - - - -HOW I BECAME A CONVICT. - - -I was born on the estate of Lord ——, in the north of England. My father -was one of the under-gardeners, and lived in one of the lodges on -the domain. As soon as I entered upon my teens, I was taken into the -great house as a sort of page, where I was treated with much kindness -and favour. In a while I outgrew my ‘buttons,’ and was then sent to -the stables as an under-groom. Before I had reached my eighteenth -birthday, my noble master died. The son who succeeded to the title and -estates was quite unlike his father. A clean sweep was made in the -establishment: the racing-stud was done away with; the elder servants -discharged; a retrenchment was made all round; and in the change I was -one of the many who had to seek work elsewhere. - -My lot was next cast in the large town of B——, whither I had gone to -seek employment. A successful shopkeeper, who advertised his wares by -sending round the town a showy van drawn by two handsome horses, driven -by a good-looking, well-dressed coachman, wanted a suitable groom to -complete the show. Coming fresh and ruddy from Lord ——’s stables, I -obtained the post without any trouble, and added very much, I think, to -the attraction of the shopkeeper’s show as long as the bloom of youth -and country air remained on my cheeks. But I found the new life very -different from the old one. Coachee and I had more leisure than was -good for us in this perambulating business. Hurry was no part of our -duty in the delivery of parcels, and so our driver frequently turned -aside into some by-street to indulge his weakness for drink. I had -been accustomed to have my glass of home-brew in the servants’ hall, -and up to this time I can truly say that my habits were sober. But -companionship with my van-fellow led me to join him in his tippling, -until at length I was almost as bad as himself. One evening, after the -usual calling at our favourite houses, we were both without a copper to -take a parting glass for the night. In the stable-loft, at the back of -our master’s premises, a pier-glass had been stowed. It lay there for -several weeks. We were in doubt about its ownership, and in our need -of cash, the coachman suggested that we might raise a few shillings -upon it. At first, I hesitated to take any part in the matter; but my -scruples and fears were overcome by my companion. ‘Nay, lad, you have -nought to fear. On pay-day we’ll get it out of pawn, and no one will be -any the wiser.’ - -Thus persuaded, I joined in the first dishonest act of my life. As fate -would have it, the pier-glass was wanted before pay-day came round. -The guilt was brought home to our door, and the coachman and myself had -to change our livery for a prison dress. ‘Three months’ hard labour,’ -came like a death-knell upon my ears; and with a choking lump in my -throat, I was lodged in the borough prison. - -After the expiration of my sentence, the shame of my disgrace prevented -me from going back to my father’s cottage. All the people on the estate -must have heard of my crime, and how could I dare to show myself there! -Much down-hearted, I walked back to the town from which I had been -imprisoned. The only opening that occurred to me was to join the army. -I could hide myself there, I thought. So I walked to the recruiting -quarters, took the Queen’s shilling, and enlisted. - -I was then under twenty years of age, and ‘a promising youngster,’ as -the sergeant said. All in good time, I was sent to Aldershot. A few -months’ stay there made me home-sick. I repented of the step I had -taken, and I made up my mind to give up soldiering as soon as I got -the chance. My difficulty was to get the clothing of a civilian. I -dare not buy clothes, for my purpose would thus be made known; neither -could I take a comrade into my confidence. I resolved at length to -bolt and take my chance. Passing through a Hampshire village, I saw a -countryman’s smock and trousers drying on a cottage hedge. ‘The very -thing,’ I thought: ‘all is fair in war;’ and with such notions in my -mind, I stole the articles and made off. But luck was against me. The -theft was soon discovered, and I was pursued and arrested before I had -gone far on the road. For this offence I was sent to Winchester jail -for a couple of months. It also brought about my dismissal from the -army, for the regiment was too respectable to keep a felon in its ranks. - -During my imprisonment at Winchester, a circumstance took place, -which, though trivial at the time, had much to do with me some time -afterwards. One day, as I was taking exercise in the ring, a visitor -stepped on to the ground. I immediately recognised in the stranger the -chief superintendent of the prison where I had served three months. It -seems that he had come from the north to prove a conviction against a -man then awaiting trial in Winchester. He recognised me as quickly as I -recognised him; but I little thought that such a meeting would affect -my destiny. How? You shall know in good time. - -From Winchester I made my way back to the north, to the town where I -first fell into trouble, and was lucky enough to get employment as a -‘striker’ in some large iron-works. With wages at four shillings a -day, I managed very nicely, and was comfortably off. After a while, -another labourer in the same works, Joe Smith as he called himself, -came to lodge in the same house as myself. Naturally we became somewhat -familiar; but he was very silent about himself, so that I never got to -know where he came from, or anything of his history. One day I saw that -he had got possession of a watch, a far better-looking thing than I had -been accustomed to see among working-men. ‘Hillo, Joe,’ said I, ‘you’re -getting smart. Where did ye get that ticker from?’ - -‘Oh, I won it in a shilling raffle. It’s a beauty, isn’t it?’ - -The following Saturday afternoon, just as I was leaving the house for -a stroll, Joe met me rather hurriedly, saying: ‘Tom, I’m going to -Manchester till Tuesday. I haven’t much time to catch t’ train, and -I just want one or two things in t’ house, and a few shillings extra -like. Just run and pawn this watch for me, there’s a good lad, and -we’ll both go to station together.’ - -‘All right, Joe,’ I said; ‘give it to me.’ - -‘I’ll follow thee in a minute,’ he shouted, as I hurried to the nearest -pawnshop. - -When I handed the watch to the shopman, he examined it closely, and -once or twice looked rather queerly at me. ‘Where did you get this?’ he -asked. - -‘A mate of mine just gave it me to pawn,’ I answered. ‘He won it in a -raffle; I expect him here directly.’ - -‘Boy!’ he shouted to an assistant in the shop, ‘I shall want some -change; run and get some as quick as you can.’ - -In a few minutes the boy came back with a policeman—the ‘change’ he was -sent out for, as it proved. - -‘Officer,’ said the shopman, ‘this young man has just handed in a watch -that’s wanted. Here’s the notice of warning sent round from the police -office.’ - -‘What have you got to say?’ said the policeman. - -‘I know nothing about it; I will take it directly to the man who gave -it me.’ - -But on going into the street, nothing was seen of Joe. We went to the -lodgings, but no Joe was there. He must have seen the officer taken to -the shop, and then thought it best to run away. - -‘Well, young man, you must come with me to the station. The watch is -stolen, and has been found upon you;’ so said the officer, as he laid -hold of my arm to take me to the lock-up. - -In due time I was brought before the magistrates, charged with having -stolen a watch. I told my story, which, from the smiles on the faces in -court, seemed to be a very stale one. - -‘Is anything known of this man?’ sharply asked one of the magistrates. - -‘Yes, your worship,’ answered an official, as he read from a large -book. ‘Convicted for stealing a pier-glass, April 19, 1867, and -sentenced to three months’ hard labour.’ - -It was now October 1868, only about eighteen months after my first -appearance in the same dock. I saw that this fact told against my tale. - -‘You stand committed to the sessions,’ was the reply of the Bench; and -I went down below, lamenting my hard luck. - -A day or two after my committal to the borough prison, the chief -superintendent visited my cell, note-book in hand. ‘You have been -previously convicted,’ he said. ‘Once in this prison last year. Haven’t -you been in Winchester jail since?’ - -I saw it was useless to deny it; and now I began to realise the -seriousness of my position. The superintendent was getting up my -criminal history for the recorder, and two convictions in so short a -time would certainly insure for me a long sentence. The knowledge of my -innocence in the present case made my position all the more grievous. - -Each of the cells in this prison was provided with a small cistern for -water, let into the outside wall, but with one of its sides flush with -the interior wall. I found one of the screws, by which it was fastened, -loose. Curiosity led me to try and loosen the others. This I at last -accomplished. Then I took the cistern out, and saw a space in depth -more than half the thickness of the wall, and large enough to admit the -passage of my body. The thought of escape at once suggested itself, -and I resolved to make the attempt. I carefully put back the cistern, -replaced the screws, and covered them with whitewash from the walls. - -Having several weeks to wait for trial, I was taken out of the cell -a good deal, and was employed in many ways. One day, as I was doing -a light job in the basement, I saw an iron bar about three feet long -lying about. This I concealed in my clothes, and safely carried to -my cell. My first object was to break the bar in two; but how was it -to be done without a file? My eyes lighted upon the scrubbing-stone -used for cleaning the floor. I tried the hardest piece I could find, -and rubbed away with all my might. Imagine my delight when I found -the iron showing signs of wear! Stone was to be had in abundance, and -I persevered until success crowned my work and the iron bar lay in -two pieces. I then began my attack upon the wall. The dinner-hour was -usually a very safe time for prisoners to play pranks. Only one or two -warders were left in charge, though the prison was a very large one and -pretty full. Fortunately for my schemes, my cell was situated on the -fourth landing from the basement, and in the reception ward, which at -that time contained very few persons awaiting trial. Every dinner-hour, -therefore, I pulled out the cistern and set to chipping away the brick -wall behind it. The rubbish was carefully kept in the space thus made, -and no suspicion seems to have been aroused of my movements. By the end -of the week or so, I had broken away all but the thin outer edge, so -that a vigorous shove would send the remaining part out. - -The question now was how to get down to the ground outside. The -distance from the hole to the yard below was fully sixty feet. A rope -I must have somehow. All my ingenuity was called into play to get one. -The rugs of my bed were double, and fastened together as if one was the -lining of the other. The under ones I tore off and made into strips, -which I plaited into a rope. Sundry other little things, which I found -from day to day in my work about the corridors, were stealthily put -aside and changed into rope. At length I had plaited what I thought -sufficient. My materials were stowed away behind the cistern, and I -determined to attempt an escape on the next Saturday evening. I chose -that evening because it was usually the most free from any chance of -interruption from the officers, and the most favourable for escaping -detection, if I succeeded in reaching the crowded thoroughfares of the -town. - -Saturday came. Supper was served at five; the cells were locked up for -the night; and by six o’clock the officers, excepting a couple left -in charge, had left the building. ‘The night watchman will be on duty -outside at eight,’ I said to myself; ‘I must be out of this before -then. Now for it.’ I removed the cistern for the last time, pulled from -their hiding-place the coils and irons, and with a thrust or two, sent -the thin portion of wall into the yard below. I then fastened a bar of -iron to each end of the rope. One of these, placed across the opening -on the inside, afforded a safe holding; the other kept the hanging rope -steady. I put my legs through the opening to descend, and managed to -get through, and reached the basement yard, though not without fear and -trembling. By a shake of the rope, the iron bar fell from its holding, -and I was able to pull it down for my further use in scaling the outer -wall. It was a November night—dark, cold, and windy. I now made for a -part of the outer wall which separated the chaplain’s garden from the -prison, and where there was a suitable corner for the use of my rope. I -had frequently noticed this spot from the reception ward, and guessed -its height to be about fifteen feet. Over this spot I threw the iron -bar at the end of the rope; by good luck, it caught somehow on the -other side. I mounted quickly, sailor fashion, and in another minute I -was free. - -The by-road from the prison joined the highway to the town about six -hundred yards off and skirted the warders’ cottages. When I reached -the junction I saw under the gas lamp one of the warders smoking and -chatting with a policeman. At the sight my heart sank; but I quickly -recovered courage, crossed the road, swinging my arms about in a -careless way, and passed on safely towards the town. As I proceeded, -it struck me as very foolish to venture into the lighted streets in -prison dress; besides, there was no one in the town that I particularly -cared to see. I therefore turned my steps in an opposite direction, and -marched northwards into the country. After walking about seven miles, -I took refuge for the night in an outhouse belonging to a small farm -on the roadside. I hid myself in the loft among the hay and straw, and -slept like a top. Early on the Sunday morning I was aroused by some one -coming to milk the cows. I kept close under cover, but no one came into -the loft. - -As soon as darkness came on, I slipped away, and went on still -northwards. All that night I tramped, scarcely meeting with a soul. -By daybreak I had reached the outskirts of a large town, whose name -I did not know. An empty house offered an enticing place of rest, -and in I went for a few hours. By this time, I knew that the hue and -cry would be abroad. Without a disguise, my liberty would be but -short. The police of this unknown town would, I am sure, be now on -the lookout, for the prison could not be thirty miles off. An empty -house could supply me with nothing, so I resolved to go prospecting. -I got through an attic window on the roof, and crawled to the nearest -inhabited house. Looking through its attic window, I saw on a chair a -suit of clothes—evidently some one’s Sunday suit, not yet put away. -They were quickly in my grasp, and a few moments found me back again -in my refuge. I was, indeed, in luck’s way, for in the trousers’ -pockets were twenty-three shillings. I stowed the prison clothes up -the chimney, and walked into the street dressed in the stolen suit. -I hailed a cab coming down the road, and after one or two questions -for information, I directed him to drive me to the barracks. Strange -to say, this cabman was the owner of the clothes I had on. You may -scarcely believe it; but it is quite true, as after events proved. And -I paid the poor fellow with his own coin! - -I enlisted in a foot regiment, under a feigned name of course. For a -fortnight or so I kept pretty close to barracks; I then foolishly asked -the wife of one of the sergeants to pawn the stolen clothes. It was -the story of the watch over again. The theft had been reported to the -police; the pawnbrokers had been warned; and now the woman’s errand -transferred me from the barracks to the police station. My photograph -was taken and circulated. It was recognised at the prison from which -I escaped. In a day or two I was visited by my old friend the chief -superintendent, who claiming me as his property, took me forthwith back -to my old quarters. - -‘Young man,’ said he, ‘do you know what you are likely to get for this?’ - -‘A few months extra, I suppose,’ I answered. - -He smiled grimly, saying: ‘Seven years, as sure as anything.’ - -‘What! penal servitude?’ I gasped. ‘I never thought of that.’ - -And so it came to pass. I was sentenced to seven years’ penal servitude -for ‘breaking out of prison.’ Thus I became a convict. - - - - -WESTERN AUSTRALIA AS A SETTLEMENT. - - -In an address, some time ago, at the Royal Institute, Sir F. Napier -Broome, governor of Western Australia, spoke of the colony of Western -Australia as one of the few remaining parts of the British empire in -which there was still ample, almost boundless scope for enterprise and -settlement. We are likely to hear a good deal about the possibilities -of the country for British emigrants, in the near future. According -to the contract signed by Mr Hordern for a railway of two hundred -and twenty miles between Albany and Beverley, the contractor engages -to introduce within seven years five thousand adults to the country. -The contractor receives twelve thousand acres of land for every mile -of railway completed, as payment from the government. This important -railway, connecting Beverley with Albany, at the head of King George’s -Sound, gives through-communication from this port of call of the -Peninsular and Oriental Company’s steamers, to Perth and Freemantle, -saving the rough passage round Cape Leeuwin in a coasting steamer, or -the no less rough overland journey by coach. - -In the light of this and other enterprises of a like kind, a few notes -from Governor Broome’s address may be instructive and interesting at -this time. Founded in 1829, and therefore fifty-six years old, the -colony of Western Australia had, until lately, made but slow progress. -At this day, only thirty-two thousand settlers are thinly scattered -over the occupied portion of her vast expanse. The most pressing want -of the colony, the one great need, is more people, of the right sort -of course; not only more hands to labour, but more capitalists to -employ them. The development of valuable industries lying ready to -hand is hampered at every turn by this want of population. In round -figures, the extent of Western Australia is a million square miles, the -chief centres of settlement being in the south-west corner. It is the -largest of the Australian colonies, and about eight times bigger than -the United Kingdom. In the whole of the tract north of the Murchison -River there are only seven hundred white people, scattered in four -or five very small townships, and on the sheep-runs into which the -occupied country is parcelled. The flocks in this northern territory -are almost entirely shepherded by aboriginal natives. In the southern -districts, there are some thirty towns and villages, ranging from -Perth, the capital, with its six thousand inhabitants; Freemantle, -the chief port, with five thousand inhabitants, to such hamlets as -Beverley and Kojonup, with their ten or twelve houses apiece. Of the -total territory, two thousand seven hundred square miles have been sold -or granted away. Of the land still owned by the Crown, two hundred and -fifty thousand square miles have been leased for sheep and cattle runs; -and the colonists own a million and a half of sheep, seventy thousand -cattle, and thirty-five thousand horses. There is a considerable export -trade in horses to India, the Straits, and Mauritius. About seven -hundred and fifty thousand square miles of Western Australia are still -unutilised, and in great part unexplored. - -The principal industry is wool-growing, the northern districts being -particularly favourable to stock of all kinds. There are waterless -areas, as elsewhere in Australia, and districts in which water is salt, -or scarce; but boring for water and the storage of water, which had -as yet scarcely been attempted, would give a value to what were now -worthless tracts. No part of the world could boast finer or more easily -grown grapes. The south-west corner of the colony is rich in timber. -A very good opening exists for immigrants at Albany. The Peninsular -and Oriental Company’s steamers touch at Albany once a week on their -way to or from Ceylon, this being their first and last port of call in -Australia. - -The Hon. John Forrest, Commissioner of Crown Lands and Surveyor-general -for the colony, has published a concise pamphlet giving notes and -statistics about the colony, from which it appears that the legislature -has voted twenty thousand pounds for the encouragement of emigration. -Free passages are granted from London by the Crown agents, under -certain conditions, and three hundred and fifty-seven immigrants were -introduced last year, at a cost of four thousand eight hundred and -sixty pounds. - -We understand that the land regulations of the colony are liberal, and -specially adapted to induce settlement. The conditions for settlement -in Western Australia may be learned from the Emigration Agency of -Western Australia, Crown Agent’s Office, London, S.W. - - * * * * * - -Printed and Published by W. & R. CHAMBERS, 47 Paternoster Row, LONDON, -and 339 High Street, EDINBURGH. - - * * * * * - -_All Rights Reserved._ - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHAMBERS'S JOURNAL OF POPULAR -LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND ART, FIFTH SERIES, NO. 105, VOL. III, JANUARY 2, -1886 *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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